As known in computer networking, an “edge device” is a type of network device that interconnects a local area network (LAN) with a wide area network (WAN) or the Internet. For example, the LAN may include end-user devices such as PCs, mobile phones, wireless access points (AP), etc., and the WAN may be a corporate or service provider core network.
Typically, a significant number of edge devices need to be configured and deployed in a medium to large-sized organization. Thus, techniques that facilitate the configuration of such edge devices are highly desirable, since they can reduce the management burden on the organization's IT/network administrators.
Some network device vendors advertise their existing edge devices as supporting “auto-configuration.” However, this auto-configuration feature merely enables the automatic download of a pre-set configuration file from a core switch/router to the edge device. Network administrators still need to prepare a configuration file for each individual edge device prior to download (since each edge device will be connected to different LANs/VLANs and require different port configurations). As a result, this solution does not appreciably reduce the management burden on the administrators.